Part 2

The beauty of the church hymn implies further that its line of thought and disposition be clear and well arranged, that each stanza express a complete thought, and that there be not too many stanzas—the church hymn must not be too long. The phraseology, syntax and metrical form must be free from such defects as mar and desecrate the sublime content of the hymn or make it offensive, unclear, or even incomprehensible to the congregation. This does not mean to commend that vandalism whereby modernists have sought to remove from the old church hymns every obsolete word and construction as well as everything which seemed to be at variance with the rules of secular poetry—a process whereby many excellent old church hymns have been deprived of their original power and simplicity. Most certainly, revision and purification of the outer form of the old church hymns is sometimes necessary, in order to make them popularly intelligible and usable. But such revision and purification should be undertaken only by Christians of poetic mind and sound authority.

SECTION II THE LUTHERAN HYMN BOOK OR THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE HYMNS IN THE HYMNAL

Two different hymnological methods of disposition have arisen historically within the Church, namely, the _dogmatic_ or the _dogmatic-ethical_ method, and the _liturgical_ method. The former method came into existence in the eighteenth century. By this method the hymns in the hymnal are arranged according to the usual order of dogmatics. For an illustration of this method of arranging the hymns, look into almost any good hymnal of the Reformed Church; The Methodist Hymnal, for example. The liturgical method is the original, the standard, and the correct method of disposition. In support of this assertion, it may be well to observe that since the Lutheran hymnal is a liturgical book, a book intended for the needs of the worshipping congregation, the succession of the hymns as well as their content and character should reflect the spirit of the Church, as it finds immediate expression in the cultus and its various acts, and as it seeks indirectly to exert a hallowing influence on social life in larger or smaller circles.

It may be well to take a general view of the main factors or stages of this liturgical work of the Church, so as to see more clearly what subjects may be considered in the hymn book and in what order the various subjects or rubrics may follow each other.

The reason and the vital basis for the existence of the Church is God’s revelation of salvation through Jesus Christ, i. e., the incarnation and the work of redemption of the Son of God and the sending of the Holy Spirit; and these divine works of salvation are the great objectives of the three great church festivals, Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, around which the cycles and days of the church year are grouped. The Church is the result of this revelation. Therefore our attention turns towards the Church, her nature, her establishment, and her extension in this world through missionary activity; further, toward her inner growth, by which she gives expression to her religious and harmonious life as a communion in solemn divine worship, and through her sacred acts and order consecrates human life unto a vessel for divine life. But this self-edification is brought about in the Church only through the Holy Spirit who dwells and lives within the Church and in and through the Church and her institutions of grace produces in the hearts of the redeemed personal conversion, sanctification, and salvation. Thus the Church grows both outwardly and inwardly and proceeds towards her eternal perfection. But the Church has to do not only with purely spiritual conditions, things divine and eternal. By her life she seeks to permeate, sanctify, and glorify all conditions, even the temporal. The Church seeks to penetrate, in a highly beneficial way, the civic community, to ennoble its affairs and impart support and exhortation both to the governing and the governed, in times of prosperity and in times of trouble. The Church is deeply interested in her educational institutions, these nurseries of time and eternity; the Christian school is not only a creation of the Church, but it needs the whole-hearted support of the Church. The Church is also deeply interested in the welfare of domestic life—she seeks to make the home a happy Christian home. The Church also desires to support and accompany the individual member throughout his course of life, especially in its more difficult stages, so that this temporal life may lead to eternal life.

If these are the most important factors in ecclesiastical-liturgical activity, and if the church hymnal is to be in perfect harmony with the life of the Church, then the hymns in the hymnal may be arranged as follows: 1. _Festival Hymns_, arranged according to the festivals, cycles and holy-days of the church year—Advent, Christmas, New Year, Epiphany, etc. 2. _Hymns about the Church and ecclesiastical acts_: the Word, the Church, Missions, ecclesiastical acts (worship, Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, confirmation, ordination and installation, dedication of churches, etc., also marriage and burial). 3. _Hymns about the Christian life_: repentance, faith, justification and state of grace, sanctification (the fruits of regeneration, prayer, cross and consolation), the completion (the resurrection, judgment, eternity). 4. _Hymns for certain people, times and circumstances_: the Christian community (fatherland, the authorities and the subjects, judges and those suing for justice, temporal necessities, war and peace, plagues and calamities, etc.), the Christian school or Christian education, the Christian home (husband and wife, parents and children, master and servant, morning and evening hymns, etc.), conditions in the life of an individual (health, sickness, death, etc.).

GENERAL SURVEY OF THE HISTORY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH HYMNS

SECTION III EARLY CHRISTIAN HYMNODY To About 600 A. D.

The Christians of the first century sang hymns, both in private and in public worship. The writings of the New Testament testify to this fact, as for example 1 Cor., chapter 14, also the well known places Eph. 5:19 and Col. 3:16. To begin with the Christians sang the hymns of the Old Testament, especially the Psalms of David. Among early Christian songs, we note the following: the Gloria in excelsis Deo (the angelic hymn), the Gloria Patri, the Ter Sanctus (Isaiah 6:3), the Hallelujah, the Benedicite, the Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29), the Magnificat (Luke 1:46), the Benedictus (Luke 1:68), and the Te Deum Laudamus.

From Paul’s references to sacred song in his epistles we learn that the early Christians possessed hymns of their own composition, besides the Bible songs. But we know very little about these very early hymns of the Apostolic Age; we know of no great hymn writer of that age. One of the earliest hymn writers that we know of is Clement of Alexandria, who lived about 200 A. D. To him is attributed the Greek hymn, “Shepherd of tender youth,” which has been regarded as the first Christian hymn. It is found in most of our standard American hymnals—number 282 in Common Service Book. In 1846 this hymn was freely translated into English by Rev. Dr. Henry Martyn Dexter, editor of The Congregationalist, Boston.

EARLY GREEK HYMNS

Looking at the Christian ancestry of our church hymnody, in a narrower way, it may be said that its history goes back to the hymn writing of christianized Greece—1500 years back—1500 years of Christian hymn writing and hymn singing. The church hymnody of the different countries varies, of course, in time and duration. A German, for example, finds about seven hundred years of German hymn writing in his hymn book. We have inherited and appropriated this common legacy.

In Syria there arose in the second century several prolific hymn writers. They were Gnostics, who sought to propagate their heretical teachings through sacred song. Bardesanes and his son Harmonius were the leaders of this Gnostic hymnody in the Syriac Church. This heretical hymnody was the negative cause of the great hymn writing of Ephrem Syrus, who was born at Nisibis in Northern Mesopotamia, 307 A. D., and died at Edessa, 373. He is regarded as the foremost representative of the orthodox hymnody of the old Syriac Church. In order to counteract the dangerous influences of Gnosticism, Ephrem Syrus produced a large number of fine hymns, which became very popular throughout the Eastern Church. Thus a new era in Christian hymnody was introduced. See pages 63-68 in “The Hymn as Literature,” by J. B. Reeves.

Like the Gnostics of Syria in the second century, so also the Arians of Constantinople in the fourth century sought to propagate their heretical doctrines through sacred song. Again great champions of orthodoxy arose, men like Ephrem Syrus, who produced fine hymns, mainly in defense of the doctrines of the Trinity and Christ’s divine nature. Among early well known Greek hymn writers we note the following: Gregory of Nazianzus (died 389), Anatolius (seventh or eighth century), St. Andrew of Jerusalem (660-732), St. Cosmas, the Melodist (died about 760), St. John of Damascus (died about 780), St. Stephen of St. Sabas (died 794), and St. Joseph the Hymnographer (died about 840). As examples of their hymns we have “O Thou the One supreme o’er all” by Gregory, “The day is past and over” by Anatolius, “The day of resurrection” by St. John of Damascus, and “Art thou weary, art thou languid” by St. Stephen. Rev. Dr. John Mason Neale (1818-1866) of East Grimstead, England, has produced many excellent translations of the old Greek hymns, which are found in nearly all modern hymnals.

In the Eastern Church, as early as the third century, the custom of singing had become so general as to be recognized as one of the Church’s predominating features. In the Eastern Church, at Antioch, antiphonal congregational hymn singing had its origin, and from thence spread in all directions in the fourth century. An interesting fact comes to light in connection with the use the Eastern Church made of its hymns. Theodoret, in his historical writings, tells us that “while Chrysostom (347-407) was bishop of Constantinople, at the opening of the fifth century, the orthodox Christians were in the habit of assembling themselves in the public squares, then marching in midnight processions, through the city, singing sacred songs, in order to combat those who were enemies of Christ’s divinity.” This is a testimony concerning the anti-Arian hymnody.

The early hymnody of the Eastern Church possesses a great deal of poetic beauty and fine rhetorical style. But many of these old Greek hymns indulge in a certain amount of tedious broadness and dogmatic prosiness. They are often vague and fantastic. Fine language seems often to be of greater importance than spiritual content. In the Eastern Church sacred song never received the development and the place in the life and the cultus of the congregation as in the Western Church. During the last half of the third century the Eastern Church advocated the use of the Psalms of David only in divine service. It must also be borne in mind that attempts were made in the Eastern Church about the middle of the fourth century to suppress congregational singing. The character of the hymns that were produced in the Eastern Church, their bombastic and often turgid style, their complicated rhythmical structure, and their unpractical Christianity, prevented them from becoming a property of the common people.

EARLY LATIN HYMNS

Early sacred song in the Western Church is characterized by noble simplicity and clearness in form, as well as by a more practical Christianity; fine qualities which go to make the old Latin hymns more accessible and serviceable to us than the old Greek hymns.

The fourth century witnessed a remarkable activity in Latin hymnody. The Western Church was far more active in the hymnological field than the Eastern Church. One of the founders of Latin hymnody was St. Hilary, the good bishop of Poitiers, great scholar, and great defender of the Christian faith. During his exile (356-360) in Phrygia, St. Hilary came in touch with Arian hymn singing. When he was permitted to return to Gaul, he brought with him a great enthusiasm for hymn singing. He edited the first hymn book of the Western Church, and introduced singing of orthodox hymns among his people. He died in 368 A. D.

But the great author and leader of Latin hymnody is, undoubtedly, St. Ambrose, the admirable and amiable bishop of Milan. He was born in 340 and died on Good Friday, 397. St. Ambrose has been called the father of Latin church song, because of his great work in hymnody and church music. The first stanza of one of his beautiful hymns is here quoted.

O Jesus, Lord of heavenly grace, Thou Brightness of Thy Father’s face, Thou Fountain of eternal light, Whose beams disperse the shades of night.

Prudentius (Aurelius Prudentius Clemens) is a prominent Latin hymn writer of this period. He was born in Spain, 348 A. D. Prudentius has been called “the first great Christian poet.” With him the Latin, the language of a stern and hard people, is, as it were, tempered by faith. He, like most of the early Latin hymnists, sings the praises of the faith, hope and love of the Christian Church. The subjective, with its “I,” “me” and “mine,” so characteristic of modern hymnody, had no place in the hymns of Prudentius. He received high honors from the Roman emperor, but in old age he preferred to devote himself quietly to religious literary work. He died about 410 A. D. We quote the first stanza of a beautiful Christmas hymn, Corde natus ex Parentis, from Prudentius, the translation by Neale.

Of the Father’s love begotten, Ere the worlds began to be, He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending He, Of the things that are, that have been, And that future years shall see, Evermore and evermore.

St. Patrick (fifth century), called the Apostle of Ireland, wrote several hymns for his people. Coelius Sedulius, of the fifth century, wrote several great Latin hymns, among which we refer to one that has been sung quite extensively, namely, A solis ortus cardine—From lands that see the sun arise.

Gregory the Great (545-604) and Venantius Fortunatus (530-609) mark a period of transition in the hymn singing of the Western Church. It was at this time, about 600 A. D., that the Ambrosian church song was superseded by the Gregorian. Here it was that congregational song in the Western Church was abandoned and that part of public worship given over to the priests and the monks. The only part the congregation took was in a few responses. Gregory the Great was a man of unusual ability. He was pope from 590 until his death in 604. He was a zealous missionary to Britain, great as a champion against the heretics, and great as a preacher, but his best service to the Church is undoubtedly his liturgical and musical contribution. He strove to make public worship worthy of Him to whom it was rendered. It must be borne in mind that good congregational singing was something which presented great and perplexing problems in those days. The Gregorian chants, still in use, after a lapse of more than a dozen centuries, show the Gregorian style and indicate how Gregory changed the melodious and flowing hymns of St. Ambrose into the more severe and solemn style of the new period. But we have several hymns from Gregory’s pen which indicate that he was not without the Ambrosian spirit. Take, for example, his beautiful hymn,

O Christ, our King, Creator, Lord, Saviour of all who trust Thy word, To them who seek Thee ever near, Now to our praises bend Thine ear.

Venantius Fortunatus, the troubadour, holds a very important place in early Latin hymnody. He wrote one of the greatest hymns of the Western Church, namely, Vexilla Regis—The royal banners forward go, the Cross shines forth in mystic glow. We quote the first stanza of another great hymn by Fortunatus, a grand Easter hymn.

Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say; Hell today is vanquished; heaven is won today. Lo! the Dead is living, God for evermore! Him their true Creator, all His works adore. Welcome, happy morning! age to age shall say.

Simplicity, depth, fervor, divine sentiment, full-hearted confession, are some of the outstanding characteristics of the early Latin hymns. They are, on the whole, Scriptural, pure, and devotional. The key-note in these venerable old hymns consists of the main points of Christianity, the protection and care of the Father, the redemption of Christ, the sanctification of the Holy Spirit, strains of thanksgiving and praise, invocation of God’s support against the devil, the flesh and the world.

SECTION IV MEDIAEVAL CHRISTIAN HYMNODY A. D. 600-1520

When the Western Church passed into the mediaeval era of its history, about 600 A. D., we find church song in a new and different situation. During the ancient era of the Christian Church, it may be said that church song was, for the most part, a song of the people of God, a congregational song. Attempts had been made before this time, it is true, to suppress congregational song, but they had proven more or less unsuccessful. During the Middle Ages, however, the Church was successful in definitely transferring church song from the people to the clergy and a well trained clerical choir. Latin was the liturgical language of the entire Western Church, wherefore the mediaeval church hymns were written in that language. The Carolingian age, productive in so many respects, also produced a number of very beautiful hymns, resembling the best productions of the Ambrosian era of hymnody. Charlemagne was not only a zealous promoter but also a practiser of sacred poesy. In the ninth century Notker Balbulus of St. Gall monastery produced hymns called Sequences, which differed in their metrical structure from the older hymns. These Sequences had three or six lines in each verse, while the verses of the older hymns had four lines each. In a subsequent chapter we shall speak more fully of the Sequences and their remarkable birthplace.

Passing over into the mediaeval Church, we find that our church hymnody had three different sources in the time before the Reformation. One source was the Latin church hymnody. The second source consisted of the German songs, called Leisen. The third source was the religious folk-song of the common people.

MEDIAEVAL LATIN HYMNS

During the second half of the Middle Ages, beginning with the eleventh century, a number of great hymn writers arose. King Robert of France, who died 1031 A. D., probably wrote one of the greatest hymns of the Latin Church, namely, Veni Sancte Spiritus. Dr. S. W. Duffield claims that this great Sequence was written by Hermannus Contractus, the crippled monk of Reichenau, in the eleventh century.

Bernard of Cluny and Bernard of Clairvaux are two Latin hymn writers who hold a very important place in Christian hymnody. From Bernard of Cluny (twelfth century) comes the well known hymn, “Jerusalem the golden, with milk and honey blest.” This hymn comes from his famous and only poem Laus Patriae Celestis which consists of some three thousand lines of dactylic hexameter. We quote the first stanza of another well known hymn that comes from the same poem.

Brief life is here our portion; Brief sorrow, short-lived care; The life that knows no ending, The tearless life, is there.

Oh, happy retribution! Short toil, eternal rest; For mortals, and for sinners, A mansion with the blest.

From St. Bernard of Clairvaux we have such great hymns as “Light of the anxious heart,” “Wide open are Thy hands,” “O Jesus, King most wonderful,” “Jesus, the very thought of Thee,” “Jesus, Thou Joy of loving hearts,” and “O Sacred Head, now wounded.” St. Bernard was born in Fountaines, Burgundy, 1091. History speaks of him as highly imaginative, great champion of the faith, great orator, great teacher, founder and abbot of the Cistercian monastery at Clairvaux, and leader in mediaeval mysticism. He died in 1153. Luther called him “the best monk that ever lived.” Hymns from the two Bernards can be found in any standard modern hymn book and they are worth careful study.

Adam of St. Victor (twelfth century) is another important Latin hymnist. He was choirmaster at the great St. Victor monastery at Paris. Trench speaks of him as “the foremost among the sacred Latin poets of the Middle Ages.”

Thomas of Celano, whose birthplace is unknown, was one of the first members of the Franciscan order. In 1221 he went to Germany and remained there for nine years; then he returned to Italy, where he died in 1255. Thomas of Celano wrote the greatest hymn of the Latin Church—Dies Irae. There are nineteen verses to this great Sequence, of which we quote the first two. The translation is by Wm. J. Irons.

Day of wrath, that Day of mourning, See fulfilled the prophet’s warning, Heaven and earth in ashes burning.

O what fear man’s bosom rendeth, When from heaven the Judge descendeth, On whose sentence all dependeth.

Thomas Aquinas was born in a Neapolitan castle, Italy, about 1225. He was a Dominican and the strongest of the scholastics, theological professor at several universities, Doctor of Theology from Paris, also called Doctor Angelicus. He was a prolific writer; his Summa Theologiae is a great dogmatic work. He died in a prominent monastery at Naples in 1274. Thomas Aquinas produced a number of excellent hymns. His “Lauda, Sion, salvatorem” is generally regarded as one of the greatest hymns of Latin hymnody. It can be found in almost any standard hymnal, beginning “Sion, to thy Saviour singing.”

Jacoponus (died 1306) wrote one of the greatest hymns of the Roman Church, namely, Stabat Mater Dolorosa. This hymn is found in many Protestant hymnals, beginning “At the Cross her station keeping.” Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471) of Holland and John Huss (1369-1415) of Bohemia, made valuable contributions to mediaeval hymnody.

These Latin hymn writers have produced hymns which are characterized by deep ardor, great love of Christ, and soul-stirring earnestness. The Latin church hymnody is very wealthy indeed; more than 20,000 Latin church hymns have been discovered. Of these Latin hymns we have appropriated a large number of beautiful festival church hymns. Their form is very plain. Without any comment the festival subject is presented in a very plain and simple statement of the event in question. The singer loses himself in his subject; there is nothing here of self-assertion. Note such hymns as “A great and mighty wonder,” “All praise to Thee, Eternal Lord,” “The strife is o’er, the battle done,” “Christ, the Lord, is ris’n today,” “Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia,” etc.

Mightily through the ages sound the hymns of penance and judgment; perhaps too strong at times. Note that mighty and most powerful hymn, Dies irae, dies illa. But the mediaeval hymnody is not without the evangelical spirit; this is clearly seen in our hymn books, especially in the Communion hymns. In spite of magic and abuse, it was nevertheless in the Holy Communion that the true Christian of the Middle Ages came closest to Christ. Note two mediaeval Communion hymns:

Lord Jesus Christ! To Thee we pray, From us God’s wrath Thou turn’st away, Thine agony and bitter death Redeem us from eternal wrath.

This hymn comes from John Huss and was translated by Martin Luther. The other Communion hymn is “Jesu dulcis memoria,” probably by St. Bernard of Clairvaux:

Jesus, the very thought of Thee With sweetness fills the breast; But sweeter far Thy face to see, And in Thy presence rest.